District of Columbia Public Schools, Washington, DC. Div. of Quality Assurance.

To examine the interactions between particular reading materials used most frequently with students in grades one through six and beginning reading instructional levels, evaluation system data collection forms were submitted in July 1983 by 1,575 regular classroom teachers representing 125 District of Columbia elementary schools. A total of 18,157 students were included in the analysis. Essential data reported included each student's current grade, next semester grade, and next semester reading and mathematics instructional levels according to the Student Progress Plan (SPP). The measure of progress employed, the "next semester" SPP grade level minus the "current" SPP grade level, was keyed to reading progress. The reading materials that were associated with significantly higher amounts of pupil promotion for students in given grade levels who were reading below grade level were as follows: grade one--Houghton Mifflin; grade two--Ginn; grade three--Holt and Harcourt Brace; grade four--American Book; grade five--Holt and American Book; and grade six--Holt and American Book. (CRH)